Slider for slide fasteners



Feb. 28, 1956 K. J. STALLER ET AL SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Filed Feb. 8, 1952 ZJYVEJYZ 01-5 M [fang/Jazz ingle/ jfilfi'yea 1414 :5

www

United States Patent SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Karel Jan Staller, Fairborn, Ohio, and Emil F. Sv'ec, New York, N. Y., assignors to Flexigrip Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 8, 1952, Serial No. 270,682

2 Claims. (Cl. 24201) This invention relates to a slider for slide fasteners and more particularly to a compact economically manufacturable slider lockable in position, having a substantially constant resistance to movement and operative to secure the slide fastener in water-tight and air-tight assembly.

The slider illustrated and described in this application is particularly designed for use in engaging and disengaging overlapping marginal portions of flexible slide fastener members of the type in which the overlapping marginal portions have alternate elongated channels and projections which interlock when the marginal portions of the two flexible members are pressed together. It will be understood, however, that the slider, according to the principles of this invention, may be used with other types of slide fasteners.

According to this invention, the slider has a pair of slots in opposite sides thereof for receiving the overlapping marginal portions of the flexible slide fastener members. The slots are smoothly curved so as to uniformly guide the marginal portions into and out of engagement as the slider is moved in opposite directions therealong. Each of the curved slots preferably has a center line defined by two arcs having centers on either side thereof with the distance between the centers equal to the radius of one are plus the radius of the other. By this feature, for any given maximum resistance to movement, the slider may take the most compact form possible. In addition, this form of the slots results in a uniform bending of the flexible slide fastener members and the possibility of breakage of the members is minimized.

According to another feature of this invention, the slider has a bridge portion disposed between the overlapping marginal portions of the flexible slide fastener members and having a smoothly tapered forward end cooperating with the smoothly curved slots and uniformly guiding the marginal portions into and out of engagement. The bridge portion may also have a smoothly tapered rearward end for wedge engagement between the marginal portions at the limit of the closing movement of the slider. The tapered forward and rearward ends of the bridge portion then effect a water-tight and air-tight engagement with the marginal portions of the flexible slide fastener members.

Another feature of this invention is in the provision of means for locking the slider in any given position along the marginal portions of the flexible slide fastener members. In one embodiment, a lock member has abutment means cammingly engaged within the slider for pressing .a portion of the lock member into engagement with one of the marginal portions upon longitudinal movement thereof relative to the slider and second abutment means interlockingly engageable with the slider upon pivotal movement of the lock member about the first abutment means. In a second embodiment, a lock member is pivotally mounted on the slider and has a cam portion for pressing against one of the marginal portions of the flexible slide fastener members. In both embodiments the ice lock member is held in locked position by the pressure applied thereagainst from the deformed portions of the flexible resilient slide fastener members.

An object of this invention, accordingly, is to provide a slider for slide fasteners which is compact and easily and economically manufacturable.

Another object of this invention is to provide a slider for slide fasteners offering substantially constant resistance to movement.

A further object of this invention is to provide a slider adapted to close a slide fastener so as to be substantially water-tight and air-tight.

A still further object of this invention is to provide means for looking a slider in position on a slide fastener.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments and in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a slider constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-section of the slider of Figure 1 and illustrates one form of locking means;

Figure 3 is a view illustrating the cooperation of the slider with the marginal portions of a pair of flexible slide fastener members, certain portions of a slider being broken away for clarity of illustration;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along lines IVIV of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a view illustrating the configuration of the slots in the slider; and

Figure 6 is a partial longitudinal cross-section similar to Figure 2 but illustrating another preferred form of locking means.

Referring to the drawings:

Reference numeral 10 designates a slider which, by the principles of this invention, may be adapted for use with various types: of slide fasteners but is particularly designed for use with a slide fastener generally designated by reference numeral 11 and best illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. Referring thereto, the slide fastener 11 includes a pair of members 13 and 14 having overlapping marginal portions 13a and 14a, respectively. Each of the marginal portions 13a and 14a is provided with alternate longitudinal channels 15 and ribs 16 which interlock to secure the members 13 and 14 together when the marginal portions 13a and 14a thereof are pressed into engagement.

The slider 19 is arranged to move longitudinally along the marginal portions 13a and 14a to engage the same when moved in one direction and disengage the same when moved in the opposite direction. The slider 10 is provided with slots 17 and 18 in opposite sides thereof to receive the marginal portions 13a and 14a, respectively, in overlapping relation. The slots 17 and 18 are herein internally enlarged to interlockingly receive the marginal portions 13a and 140, respectively, of the illustrated slide fastener which are thicker than the adjoining portions of the members 13 and 14. The slots 17 and 18 are coextensive at the forward end of the slider 10 but are spaced at the rearward end of the slider 10 by a connecting or bridge portion 19 which, in operation, is positioned between the overlapping marginal portions 13a and 14a of the flexible slide fastener members 13 and 14, respectively.

According to this invention, the slots 17 and 18 and the bridge 19 cooperate to uniformly guide the marginal portions 13a and 14a into and out of interlocking engagement as the slider is moved in opposite directions therealong. For this purpose, the slots 17 and 18 are smoothly curved and the bridge 19 has a smoothly tapered forward end portion 20.

A preferred configuration of the slots 17 and 18 is illustrated in Figure 5, in which reference numerals 21 and 22 designate the transversely spaced forward and rearward end portions and reference numeral 23 designates an intermediate smoothly curved portion of the slot 17. The forward and rearward end portions 21 and 22 may be angularly disposed but are preferably generally parallel as illustrated in Figure 5. The smoothly curved intermediate portion 23 has a center line defined by two arcs 24 and 25 having centers 26 and 27, respectively, on either side of the slot with the distance between the centers 26 and 27 equal to the radius of the are 24 plus the radius of the are 25 so as to join at an inflection point 28. With this configuration of the slot, the transverse position of each flexible slide fastener member is changed enough to disengage it from the other with the angle of bend and the possibility of breakage of the member at a minimum and with a minimum total length of the slot relative to the resistance to movement of the slider. It will also be apparent that the resistance to movement of the slider is substantially constant and can be varied by changing the radii of the arcs 24 and 25.

According to another feature of this invention, the bridge 19, as shown in Fig. 4, may have integral ribs 29 arranged to extend between the ribs 16 of the flexible members to define slots receiving the same for guiding the slider in movement and to aid in separation and engagement of the flexible members with minimum binding action between the slider and the flexible members. As shown at the top side and bottom side of the bridge 19, respectively, either one or two ribs 29 may be provided, and more may be used if the flexible members have more than two ribs.

According to a further feature of this invention, the bridge 19 is formed to have a water-tight and air-tight engagement with the flexible slide fastener members in the closed position of the slider. it will be apparent that the interlocking engagement of the channels 15 and ribs 16 provides a substantially water-tight and air-tight engagement between the slide fastener members 13 and 14. The members 13 and 14, as illustrated in phantom lines in Figure 2, may be secured into engagement at one point designated by reference numeral 30 in any desired manner such as by a clamp, by gluing or by bonding. The bridge 19 has a smoothly tapered rearward end portion 31 to wedge into engagement between the marginal portions 13a and 14a when the slider is moved to the limit of its rearward closing movement toward the point 30 to thus provide a substantially water-tight and air-tight engagement. The smoothly tapered forward end portion 20 of the bridge 19, in addition to cooperating with the slots 17 and 18 in guiding the marginal portions 130 and 14a into and out of engagement, also engages between the marginal portions 13:! and 14a to prevent flow of air and water therebetween.

An important feature of this invention is in the provision of means for locking the slider 10 in any given position along the marginal portions 13a and 14a. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, a lock member 34 has a pair of abutment pins 35 and 36 projecting therefrom which may ride against cam surfaces 37 within the slider 10. When the lock member 34- is moved longitudinally relative to the slider 10, from left to right in Figure 2, the cam surfaces 37 will act on the pins 35 and 36 to press the lock member toward the bridge 19 to deform one of the marginal portions of the flexible slide fastener members. The slider will then be frictionally held in position. To secure the lock member 34 in position, an abutment portion 38 thereof is arranged to engage in a recess 39 in the slider 10 when the lock member 34 is pivoted counterclockwise, Figure 2, about the abutment pins 35, 36. It will be noted that, in this position, the pressure of the deformed marginal portion will hold the lock member 34 in position. It may also be noted that the lock member, in this position, is disposed compactly in generally parallel relationship to the flexible slide fastener members but may be pivoted to a position such as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 2 to release the slider for movement and to provide a handle for moving the slider.

The lock member 34 is generally provided only on one side of the slider 10 but, if desired, two lock members on either side of the slider 10 may be provided or the slider 11 may be constructed so that a single lock member may be assembled in either side of the slider. For this purpose, the slider may be provided with a cam surface 40 and a recess 41, corresponding to the surface 37 and the recess 39, in the opposite side of the slider.

Another preferred embodiment of lock means is illustrated in Figure 6. Referring thereto, a lock member 43 has pins 44 thereon pivotally journaled in recesses 45 within the slider 10. The lock member 43 has a cam portion 46 for pressing against one of the flexible slide fastener members when the lock member 43 is in the illustrated position. The lock member 43 may be pivoted to a outwardly projecting position relative to the flexible slide fastener members to release the slider 10 for movement and to provide a handle for moving the slider 10.

It will accordingly be apparent that, by this invention, a slider for slide fasteners is provided which is compact, easily and economically manufacturable, readily locked in position, movable in opening and closing directions with substantially constant resistance to movement, and substantially water-tight and air-tight.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a slider for engaging and disengaging overlapping marginal portions of a pair of flexible slide fastener members upon reciprocable movement along said marginal portions, a lock member having first abutment means cammingly engaged Within the slider for pressing a portion of said lock member into engagement with one of said marginal portions on longitudinal movement thereof relative to the slider, and second abutment means on said lock member interlocl-iingly engageable within the slider on pivotal movement of said lock member about said first abutment means.

2. A slider having a pair of slots therein for receiving superposed marginal portions of a pair of flexible slide fastener members and arranged to guide said marginal portions into and out of engagement as the slider is reciprocally moved there-along, the center line of a portion of each of said slots being substantially defined by two arcs having centers on either side thereof with the distance between said centers equal to the radius of one are plus the radius of the other.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,077,350 Sundback Apr. 13, 1937 2,229,216 Marinsky Jan. 21, 1941 2,296,468 Feist Sept. 22, 1942 2,303,870 Wahl Dec. 1, 1942 2,321,926 Marinsky et al June 15, 1943 2,353,858 Tedesco July 18, 1944 2,404,977 Meitner July 30, 1946 2,539,520 Mikulas Jan. 30, 1951 2,568,163 Morin Sept. 18, 1951 2,652,611 Jaster Sept. 22, 1953 

